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This paper discusses the role of social workers and community volunteers in providing services to foster care children living with HIV in South Africa. A literature review was undertaken of 14 qualitative studies conducted in South Africa from 2012-2022. The review showed the prominent role played by social workers in foster care, despite factors which hindered service such as high caseloads, lack of knowledge on HIV and prioritisation of quantity over quality. Hence, several challenges were faced by foster carers.
The studies also revealed that community volunteers were providing services…
The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC/the Committee), in collaboration with African Union Member States, partner organizations, children and young people, launched the first of its kind Continental Study on Children Without Parental Care (CWPC) in Africa. The study, conducted from 2020 to 2022, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, covered over 43 countries in the five regions of Africa.
These presentations from Hope and Homes for Children, Miracle Foundation and Railway Children were delivered during the August 20, 2021, workshop of the Care Measurement Task Force of the Transforming Children's Care Global Collaborative Platform. The focus of the workshop was child and family outcome measurement.
This is a video recording from the webinar: Constructing the foundations for legal identity in post conflict situations. How can legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks be restructured to be more inclusive and provide trusted and trustworthy identity credentials to everyone? In post-conflict settings, how can undocumented adults, marginalized populations and refugees be registered? This webinar shared findings from…
Abstract
Heavy workloads and the crisis in South African foster care compel many social workers to focus on the physical needs of foster children and neglect their psychosocial needs. This qualitative study employed individual interviews to explore the emotional experiences of 15 adolescents placed in foster care. While they were aware of the reasons for being fostered, their situation evoked feelings of sadness, stigmatisation and exclusion. Feelings towards their biological parents included emotional blunting, resentment towards fathers who did not care, and love for parents despite…
Abstract
Research on young people transitioning out of care due to reaching the age of majority (referred to as care-leaving or aging out of care) is still emerging in South Africa. To date, almost all research on leaving care has focused on the transition out of residential care, with little attention to the transition out of foster care, including cluster foster care (roughly equivalent to group homes in other countries). This paper aims to describe the experiences of youth preparing to age out of cluster foster care in South Africa. Individual interviews were conducted with nine youth…
This report’s primary purpose is to recommend evidence-based strategies to improve the relevance and effectiveness of field interventions that target development outcomes for migrant girls in Southern Africa.
To do so, it draws on qualitative action research conducted in Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia in 2019. Methodology comprised rigorous academic review of existing knowledge published to date about the situation for migrant girls, and workshops with field-based Save the Children teams already implementing programmes for children on the move. Most importantly, the research process…
Abstract
Children leaving foster care are ill-prepared for life after foster care. They are left to face numerous challenges, such as unemployment, homelessness and lack of interpersonal relationships, which impact their young adult life. The transition into adulthood is a frightening process for any young person, but is most frightening for the child aging out of alternative care, such as foster care, especially if both of their parents are deceased. The South African legislation does make provision for independent living preparation for children aging out of foster care, however there…
This report from Kids Empowerment reviews the reception of children on the move in South Africa. The report provides an overview of the application of international law in domestic law in South Africa as regards migrant children, explains the current reception process of children on the move, reviews the role of the child protection system in receiving migrant children (including the appointment and responsibilities of guardians), describes family reunification processes such (including family tracing), and outlines placement types and options for migrant children (including temporary…
Abstract
Music therapy is a valuable tool for working with vulnerable children who have experienced trauma and neglect, working intimately to draw out their playfulness and resilience, and create an experience of a safe and trusting relationship. In South Africa, with its overburdened social welfare systems and under-resourced communities who remain affected by poverty and unemployment, there is limited access to medical and psychological services. The South African foster care system aims to provide safety and security for vulnerable and at-risk children and youth, but it is often…